Law No. 16 of 2021 - Law on the Production and Import of Seeds and Seedlings and Registration, Approval and Protection of Agricultural Varieties in Kurdistan Region - Iraq.

This Law, consisting of 18 articles, aims to (i) regulate the production and import of seeds and seedlings; (ii) promote private sector participation in this field; and (iii) provide for the registration, approval, and protection of agricultural varieties. Article 2 stipulates that the production and processing of seeds and seedlings require an official license. To obtain this license, an applicant must submit a request including key details (such as producer information, field location, and the type of seeds or seedlings), along with proof of land ownership or usage rights. Applications must be reasoned if rejected, and a prescribed fee is payable for the license. The following requirements are requested under Article 4 (i) the seeds intended for production must be registered and certified by the Supreme Committee, specialized in the registration, approval and protection of agricultural varieties, and the development, propagation and distribution of suitable seeds in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, based in Erbil; (ii) it is not permitted to produce more than one agricultural variety of the same crop in the same field; (iii) the field used to produce seeds of a particular variety must not have been planted with another variety of the same crop in the previous year. While the conditions and characteristics of the land designated for seed production are (i) to be suitable in terms of geographical location, climate, soil type, and field size, according to the type and variety of seed; (ii) to have a sufficient and continuous source of water, especially in areas characterized by low rainfall; (iii) the distances between seed production fields must be 250 meters for cross-pollinated crops and 150 meters for self-pollinated crops. Seed producers must follow approved procedures, including cleaning and treating seeds only in licensed facilities, packaging them according to Directorate instructions in properly labeled and uniformly weighted bags or containers, and maintaining dedicated storage facilities suitable for preserving seed quality.
The following certificates must accompany imported seeds and seedlings (i) Certificate of Origin; (ii) Certificate of Seed and Seedling Safety and Health; (iii) a valid Certificate of Inspection approved by the country of origin; (iv) Certificate of Safety and Inspection according to ISTA (an independent, non-profit organization specializing in the agricultural field, concerned with the development of the seed industry, and annually issuing new regulations and instructions in this field) specifications, provided that it is issued by laboratories accredited by ISTA.